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The Hollow Star

Epilogue

The TARDIS wheezed and groaned as it gradually faded from sight, and Diane squinted a bit from the wind that was kicked up. The moisture in her eyes wasn't from the dust.

She wanted him to come back, so she could tell him something, anything. That he wasn't alone, that it was the choice of the person travelling with him…

But now she never could.

"I think he'll be all right."

She looked over at the young man standing beside her, hands behind his back. Diane was surprised at how easily he snuck up.

"And how do you know that?" she asked carefully.

He shrugged and smiled, the expression entirely changing his very angular features. They seemed very much at odds with the small bowtie. "Just a feeling."

Something beeped in his tweed jacket, and he pulled out a very familiar looking device. The man (well, boy, really) looked at it a little irritably, as though he wasn't sure why it was there.

He looked to her and smiled again, this time a little more docile and friendly. "Sorry, got to go. The old ball and chain, you know."

A slender hand was shoved out towards her, big fingers waggling. Not quite sure of what to do, she very slowly shook his hand, which made him smile yet another smile. A man of many faces, this one.

She looked at his face as he spoke again, this time concentrating on the eyes. They didn't match his features at all. They looked older. Wiser.

"Nice to see you again, Diane Holmes."

His hand slipped from hers, and he strolled off into the park, relaxed and self-assured.

Diane turned back to where the TARDIS had been and smiled. While the eyes had looked older, there was a major difference. They didn't look tired anymore.

She started walking, heading for Mr Icarus' building.

The Doctor still hadn't got the nose right.


(A/N: I'm not sure where the urge to do this little epilogue came from; it wasn't in the original plans for the story, and I literally added it as I was writing. I didn't want to end on the slightly bitter note of the last chapter, I suppose; I wanted to give some hope that the Doctor's relentlessly angst-y existence will perk up a little bit, even if he will have to die again before he gets there.

Which is ironic, because I'm writing another Tenth Doctor story right now which is pretty much the polar opposite of that. Weird, the way the brain works.

Anyway, thanks for all the reviews, folks. It's been a pleasure.

Edit 08/04/10: As with 'Dominoes', I've altered some bits here and there throughout the story to match Ten's attitude towards death as shown in the final specials. This wasn't for some sequel, however, this was just because inconsistent characterisation drives me nuts.

Altering the Doctor's attitude to death put a completely different spin on why he let himself use the telepathic field a second time, even though dying was guaranteed. This actually ended up playing into the themes of the specials even better, so hurray for that. I also moved it timeline-wise so it was set firmly between 'The Next Doctor' and 'Planet of the Dead', again to better fit in with Ten's development through the specials.

Oh, and I changed his shoes from black to white. Always bugged me that I did that the first time round :P)